Autobiography 005: I often wonder what my life would have been if I'd taken the job offer

Here she wonders about life's course had she never moved to San Diego, discusses loneliness in her early 90s -- alleviated partly by volunteering in an elementary school -- then returns to telling about her marriage to Gene and surprises from friend's from Los Angeles.

Transcription

I often wonder what my life would have been if I'd taken the job offer & stayed with my girl friend's family in Huntington Park. 

     Gene would hitch hike to San Diego to see me & my dad would loan him his car so he could find a job. Gene said when he got a job we were going to get married. Eventually he landed a job as a Stationary Engineer at the Mountain Meadow Dairy in Mission Valley. He was to take care of the machinery for homogenizing milk etc. So in April after my 22nd April 17 birthday, on April 21st we were married.

Side bar notes - April 21st after my 22nd birthday - married for 65 years.

Moved to Salida CO

     Tues 3/19/02 This was a low man on the totem pole day for me. the day was lonely so walked to the the library to find out when they will want to hang my appliqué' quilt. Woman librarian likes to throw her weight around so wasn't very cooperative. Head of library called me later. Current hangings will be up 'til I get back from Kerry's April 11th.

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today, Wed, another school day.

     I wish I could get to be part of a group -- so lonely here. Hate to think of dying here -- so what!!

3/20/02

     Well, today was a round-about day. Went to the school but teacher not there as child is ill. So decided to go see Helen and the Largos.  Helen is failing & hearing is bothering her. They are such nice people & I feel they are my friends.

     Then went by Irma Valdez as she is having problems. So passed the time 'till 11:45 then went to church for brown bag lunch. Always fun to be with those people -- all seniors. Stopped by the bank & cashed a check so all set up for trip to Kerry's. So now will get back to us & time when we were first married. We didn't have a big wedding. In fact didn't tell all the friends in Huntington Park but word got out so most all came to San Diego & managed to get into the apartment we had rented & chopped toilet paper everywhere & I mean all over!!!

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Autobiography 004: But I was such a wimp and afraid to try to go it alone

Carola describes "going steady" with Gene during the depression, then about her first few jobs working as a commercial artist in Los Angeles. She calls herself a "wimp" for not staying in Los Angeles to work full-time as an artist when given the chance by her manager after father gets transferred to San Diego.

Transcription

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time in my life "going steady" was the big thing. Gene was 3 years older than me. It was during the depression + jobs were scarce but Gene got part time work at the local sporting goods store. His parents were separated & his mother moved to Banning where she had a job taking care of an older couple. So for a while he stayed at a local boarding house but jobs wouldn't support that so he batched in the back of a warehouse & lived on french fried potatoes cooked on a hot plate.


     So we went steady for about 4 or 5 years.


     After graduation from high school in Huntington Park, a number of us girls went to work at the L.A. Times calling as "Miss Maxwell" wanting to tell them about the Times want ad section. We had a certain little speal to give. My escape came from that when my dad met at his job with an oil co. the artist who did the advertising and car designs for street cars and buses. Miss 


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Annette Honeywell was a commercial artist. Dad asked her if she would take me on as a protegé. She was a bit reluctant as she said she had tried that before & and the student soon thought she knew more than the teacher. But dad finally talked her into giving me a try at $40.00 per month. I went by street car to LA 5 days a week with Miss Honeywell. I learned a lot about doing water colors as that was her specialty when doing ads for Diamond Walnuts, calco avocadoes,etc.


     Eventually times got hard for my dad. I worked at Bullochs in LA for a week doing fashion drawings when one of the artists was on vacation. Then the basement store manager hired me when his artist was on vacation. At this time my father was transferred to San Diego. The basement store advertising manager said he would hire me for a steady job if I would stay in the LA area. But I was such a wimp & afraid to try to go it alone so I went with the folks to San Diego.

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Autobiography 003: But his best friend wrote me a letter saying that this fellow was pretty wild.

Here Carola tells about her surprise in having to move from Washington to California, and how it crushed her aspirations of performing on stage. She then discusses meeting her future husband of 65 years, my great-grandfather Elmo Eugene, and how he made a fast move on her in a parked car and her rapid response.

Transcription

     For three years at North Central High School I played violin in the orchestra which was a fun time as the music teacher was a very special teacher & every year put on an operetta. Oh how I wished I could be there on the stage instead of in the orchestra part. So ----- I screwed up my courage & tried out for the chorus -- and made it! But soon all my ego was crushed as dad announced that we were moving to California. My dad's sister who lived in so. California kept asking him why he stayed in Spokane shoveling snow; why didn't he come to sunny California. So there went my chance of a bit of life "on stage". Little did I know what life had in store for me.


     We settled in Huntington Park, California, a nice little suburb of L.A. I soon made some friends. One in particular asked me to go with her to the Christian Endeavor a young people's meeting on Sunday evening. My dad later called it C E O -- see each other. As it worked out that evening that I went to C.E. with my new girl friend a tall blond fellow was leading the meeting. I could just see his mind working -- Oh! New girl in town!


     So we started dating now & then. This Gene Gough was such fun to be with. But his best friend wrote me a letter saying that this fellow was pretty wild. Well, I guess he & his buddy were liable to take off most any time & hitch hike to Canada or stow away on a boat headed for Alaska. Incidentally they were discovered & put off on the first port in Canada.


     On one date when we went to the local movie theater, on the way taking me home this "wild" fellow stopped & parked & kissed me. Well! This nice girl thought she had better deal with this guy so said "Well, I knew where we were I'd walk home." So Gene started the car, pulled up one block & stopped in front of my home. What could I do but laugh! At that

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Autobiography 002: Being the eldest I got all the child raising techniques tried out on me

On these pages Carola begins telling more of her life story in detail. She recalls her father being "so fussy" and recalls a time where she took a boat ride with a boy from school and her anxiousness about how her dad would react to a late night past her curfew!

Transcription

January 18
Today went to senior center for lunch -- Met Sheriff and his successor. Lunch was good -- also speaker -- Walked to town & back.

Feb 10. Sunday always a long day. Didn't go to church as still tired from flu. Tomorrow will get back on track -- Help at school, etc. Hope to get started writing something of my life & adventures. Plan to write each day --

Feb-12-02

Really starting today.

When I was a child growing up and having a safe childhood was not beset by all the drugs, peer pressure as it is today. When we lived in the Audubon Park area we (several girls in the neighborhood) would go down the hill from our house & play in the forest. We'd rake up leaves & pine needles to make rooms & play house. The only fear I ever remember was when

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some gypsies were camped nearby & so lots of scary stories went around.

     Vivienne Bottan was my special chum. Once in a while I was allowed to sleep over at her house but my dad so fussy. Being the eldest I got all the child raising techniques tried out on me -- like having to be home by 10:00 o'clock when I was in high school + dated once in a while.

     I remember once going on a class trip with a boy to a moonlight boat ride on Coeur d'Alene lake not far from Spokane. It was the end of school semester & this boy's father was going to pick him up at 2:00 AM to take him to a lumbering project where his son would work for the summer. So this boy sat around when we got back from the boat ride until 2:00 AM when his dad would come by. I could hear my dad walking back and forth up stairs & expected him to come angrily down the stairs most any minute!

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Autobiography 001: Today I shall at least start this account of my life

Below is a transcription of the first two pages from Carola's autobiographical journal, where she sought to tell her life story. I've also linked the scanned image. Originally I had marked certain areas with words I am not sure of like "??guy??". Other places I had written "????" where I could not read the word. Peggy understood them, however, and correct them all! Thanks, Peggy!

If you see this elsewhere and can make out the words, please submit a comment in the comments.

Also, please submit comments that link to information or good pictures of things that she is talking about, especially if they are authentic to the place or period. For example, if we have photographs, either on www.GoughFamily.com or elsewhere, please provide a link to it and information. I'll be monitoring each post as both a transcription and research-receptacle.


Transcription

Me, a missionary?? Wow!!

1/15/02

     Today I shall at least start this account of my life. Mostly it will be about my life with that so called guy his good friend, Art Cassady, called kind of wild! But to go back a bit, I was born in Wenatchee, Washington but grew up mostly in Spokane. However, my sister Donna, four years younger was born at Diamond Lake. I remember some of that time -- like when my dad found me coasting "belly buster" on my little sled down across the lake where workmen were cutting blocks of ice to store in the ice house. I think he made me some little skis as I remember seeing how he was turning the toes up.

End of June

    Linda & Wayne returned today from a ski trip to Snow Mass by Aspen to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

    Today went with Sanday Hennessy to check on helping with reading at the elementary school.

    Now should get back on track with my story.

    I should have entered the fact that I had a sister, Donna, very petite & loved doing ballet. She would go dancing around on her toes so daintily & I felt like the big, clumsy oaf, but I did learn the Highland Fling from the grandma who lived next door & was from Scotland. Several girls & her grand-daughter would get together & try to learn the steps. That was fun!!

     In summer sometimes we girls camped outside in our back yard. I invented so-called bunks by fastening old heavy draperies between saw horses -- (drawing). All went well until I thought a bug had gotten in my ear! That problem solved I'm sure we spent the whole night out there.

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Introduction: Carola Gough Autobiographical Sketch

In the early 2000's Carola started to write an autobiography. She was not able to complete this before she passed away at age 96 in 2007. However, she asked that her descendants take possession of her journals, photographs, and records of her artwork and complete this for her.

This post is the "home page" for her autobiographical sketch.

Journal Scans

Carola Gough Autobiographical Sketch Scans